For Bay Area skiers, Boreal has it all

Published 4:00 am, Friday, December 5, 1997

Of the 15 ski areas in Northern California, it is Boreal at Donner Summit that has become No. 1 for so many, especially families and Bay Area skiers making the one-day traipse up to the mountain and back.

What makes it work is the direct shot up Interstate 80, 175 miles from San Francisco, just 90 miles from Sacramento, typically on clear, fast roads where the biggest issue is ground fog in the Central Valley. In addition, Boreal is well-lighted at night and open to 9 p.m., the only major ski area in the Sierra with night skiing. That means a skier from the Bay Area can leave at 6 a.m., be up on the mountain by 10 a.m., then ski all day and into the early evening before returning that night.

There's no place else in the Sierra where you can do that. Instead the typical 4 p.m. cutoff can leave some skiers wanting more, and the access roads can make the drive a pain in the neck.

Interstate 80 becomes a driving challenge in the middle of a blizzard, but even then it's plowed by giant machines that look like the Budweiser Clydesdales. Driving escorts are often provided by the California Highway Patrol, and there are chain services at the pullouts. Even just a day after storms, I-80 is often clear, with no chains or four-wheel drive required, allowing drivers to cruise at 65 mph right up the mountain, then straight into the Boreal parking lot.

By the way, avoid the temptation to up the speed to the 70s. The route is loaded with speed traps, with teams of Smokies with radar often hidden at a few tempting downhill grades, and with several bears in the air, flying up and down the I-80 corridor, then reporting to the ground-based units.

So, after an easy cruise up I-80, turn off at the Castle Peak exit, about 10 miles west of Truckee. Parking is good, and it is a short walk to Boreal's base area to buy lift tickets ($28 for adults) and get set up with rental equipment (skis, poles, boots: $18) if necessary.

Once at Boreal, skiers will find a hill that is best suited for families and intermediate skiers. It's a soft hill, that is, with none of the rock outcrops that make Squaw Valley such a challenging, fast hill. There are enough lifts (nine) and runs (41) so fast skiers and boarders can play on the higher terrain, leaving the lower, easy stuff for beginners and youngsters.

That ability to separate the fast and slow is another key that allows Boreal to consistently offer a quality experience. Trying to mix the fast and slow, whether in skiing, biking, boating or driving, is the No. 1 cause of irritation, eventually anger and, inevitably, accidents. That problem is solved here.

Conditions are always changing throughout the winter, but at midweek, it was excellent for so early in the season. There was 26 to 30 inches of snow, allowing five of the nine lifts to operate with 28 runs available. Temperatures ranged from 34 to 52 degrees, with skies so clear it was as if you could see a million miles.

I couldn't resist the temptation, so I overflew the entire area in my plane. The beauty was astonishing, with lakes like Spaulding, Donner, Boca, Stampede and Bowman all blue gems amid the soft white carpet, and smaller ones in the wilderness starting to freeze on their edges. After viewing such a panorama, we could hardly wait to get out on the runs.

From the base staging area for the lifts on up to the ridge, Boreal does not have a great vertical drop, just 600 feet, topping out at an elevation of 7,800 feet. That results in a scenario where 30 percent of the runs are set up for beginners, 55 percent for intermediates, and just 15 percent for advanced. The longest run is a mile.

All the staging areas for lifts are at the base of the hill, with the runs separated across its face; there are no mid-level staging areas that will take advanced skiers and boarders up to a higher ridge.

If you make the ride to the top, you'll find a series of black diamond runs for the advanced, but there are other ways down. Stagecoach, an intermediate cruise, is the favorite, a nice wide run with enough room to slalom for speed control, but steep enough just the same to enter warp drive if you point 'em downhill.

Before making a trip, always call; in the early season, weather can be unpredictable. On some days, it seems somebody can cough and it can start snowing, or worse, raining.

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But Boreal even has that covered. If you don't like the snow conditions, it provides a cash-back guarantee on lift tickets within a half-hour after purchase.

For information, call Boreal at (916) 426-3666 and follow the touch-tone menu.&lt;

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